Devil's Brood (Plantagenets #3; Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine, #3) in Q&A with Sharon Kay

Aug 20, 2008 Misfit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-and-keep-for-a-reread, favorites

Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine thought they had it all - the greatest empire since Charlemagne, healthy children including the heir and several to spare - so how did it all go so wrong? The Devil's Brood takes up the story where Time and Chance left off with the murder of Thomas Becket, as Henry returns from his self imposed exile to Ireland. Henry's three eldest sons are chafing at the bit to have lands and power of their own and egged on by Louis of France they join with their mo Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine thought they had it all - the greatest empire since Charlemagne, healthy children including the heir and several to spare - so how did it all go so wrong? The Devil's Brood takes up the story where Time and Chance left off with the murder of Thomas Becket, as Henry returns from his self imposed exile to Ireland. Henry's three eldest sons are chafing at the bit to have lands and power of their own and egged on by Louis of France they join with their mother Eleanor in rebellion against their father. In time Henry quells the rebellion and forgives his sons, but he cannot forgive his wife and queen and he imprisons her. Even though Henry forgave his sons, they are still not happy with his generosity and it eventually leads to more power struggles and back-biting amongst the brothers, particularly young Hal, who suffers the ultimate punishment for his reckless deeds.

This was a fascinating story of a brilliant, powerful king whose blind love and trust in his sons lead him to making mistakes in judgment that eventually lead to his downfall. I also loved seeing a different side of the haughty, queenly Eleanor we saw in Time and Chance, as unlike her sons she does come to recognize the wrongness (well sometimes) of her actions and the cataclysmic effects those actions had on her family. Some readers may find the first part of this book a bit slow paced as Penman does spend time setting up the back history of Henry, Eleanor and the Becket murder, but hang in there as about half way through when the boys start turning on each other the pages literally started flying. Penman's dialogue was exceptional, although I couldn't decide who got the best lines, Henry or Richard – they just smoked off the page!

One of Penman’s great strengths is to take the most complex political situations and put them into a story that not only entertains the reader but educates at the same time. Five stars and it appears from the author’s notes and a recent blog interview that this will not be a trilogy, she will continue the story of Eleanor, Richard and John in one more book. Hurray!

For those of you coming away from this book wanting to know about William Marshal, I highly recommend Elizabeth Chadwick’s The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion. They are hard to find in the US, but readily available in the UK and Canada. ...more

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Apr 22, 2009 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, england, medieval

This is the final novel in Penman's trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and is centered around the implosion of their marriage and the rebellions of their sons. While this book can stand alone I would recommend readers start with When Christ and His Saints Slept and then Time and Chance to get the full and amazing story. It is a long novel just like her others but it is well worth the read in my opinion. This last installment of this amazing story has everything you could want in a n This is the final novel in Penman's trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and is centered around the implosion of their marriage and the rebellions of their sons. While this book can stand alone I would recommend readers start with When Christ and His Saints Slept and then Time and Chance to get the full and amazing story. It is a long novel just like her others but it is well worth the read in my opinion. This last installment of this amazing story has everything you could want in a novel: love, hate, betrayal, greed. Let me just say that Penman is an extraordinary writer. I wish all writers could make characters come alive like she does. The political and personal turmoil of this family is as twisted and complicated as any modern government bill but Penman manages to write it in a way that is very easy to understand and fun to read. A big part of this is her ability to make these people that have been dead for hundreds of years come alive on the pages.

This story picks up where the last one left off. Henry has gone to Ireland after Becket's death supposedly to put down rebellions there (though it is most likely to avoid punishment from the Church). Henry and Eleanor's three oldest sons feel like they are of an age where they can handle more power, which their father refuses to give them. They end up in a rebellion against him, aided in part by their mother Eleanor and Louis, the French King. He quells the rebellion and eventually forgives his sons (not a great move on his part) but he can not forgive his wife and he imprisons her (and she stays that way for sixteen years). This should be the end of matters but Henry's sons behave like they don't have a brain in their heads. They scoff at their father's generosity and turn on him again and again. He forgives them again and again (again, not a great move on his part), blindly trusting them and finding all kinds of excuses for their behavior because he does love them. Two of his sons eventually pay the price of their treachery, though not at their father's hands, and one does become king upon Henry's death.

Eleanor certainly comes across differently in this novel than she did in the last one. Yes, she does spend most of this book imprisoned by her husband but (probably because of that) she really grows and matures throughout. She learns, as her arrogant sons never could, the error of her past actions (for the most part) and how they helped cause this rupture of their family. I still like her character here, even though I was mad at her for rebelling in the first place. You can really feel how helpless she feels when she hears of the trouble her sons are causing. The later scenes between her and Henry are quite touching as you can tell that these two very stubborn and prideful people, while not able to say it out loud to each other, realize the errors they've made.

I feel so sorry for Henry through this entire novel. Even though I do get irritated at his stubbornness and his complete blindness when it comes to his sons, I pity him for what happens again and again. It really broke my heart how he kept forgiving those arrogant boys, offered them wonderful things, trusted them, made excuses for them, and they kept turning around and stabbing him in the back. For a man as smart as he was it is amazing that he couldn't see what his sons were really like. He did bring some of it on himself; the crowning of Hal, while he was doing it to make sure what happened to his mother didn't happen to his son, was probably one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. He also was maddeningly stubborn at times but overall I felt like he was trying his hardest to make everything strong and secure for his son.

I did not like any of the sons. None of them. I felt like they were spoiled, arrogant, selfish, and incredibly ungrateful. I wanted to throttle all of them at many, many points throughout the novel. Yes, their father was a stubborn man but they couldn't see that 1, he was doing what he could to make their "empire" strong and stable so they wouldn't have to worry about much when they took the reins, and 2, they'd eventually have control of their lands when their father died. That was the trouble though - they wanted it all and they wanted it NOW. And not only do they stab their father in the back repeatedly, they turn on each other over and over again. They truly seemed as if they were the devil's brood.

Penman has created another wonderful masterpiece here. I would recommend this book, along with all her others, to those that love historical fiction and to those that haven't been bitten by that bug yet, to readers who are quite familiar with this period of history and to those that are not. This book and author are sure to open your eyes and you will probably end up being bitten by that wonderful historical fiction bug along the way. ...more

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Oct 23, 2009 Bonnie added it

I finally finished this book. It took longer then I expected due to outside factors but it was worth it. The challenge for me was not going to Wikapedia and seeing 'how the story' ends (cause of death, date, etc.)

I felt that Henry was too hard on Eleanor but clearly loved his sons, even if they had a habit of rebelling against him. Also, bits and pieces from previous stories about this family would jump in and make me laugh. One example, Disney's Robin Hood when Prince John breaks 'his mother's ...more

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Oct 26, 2008 Cathie rated it it was amazing

This long-awaited book, the third in the series about King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, is wonderful historical fiction. Ms. Penman focuses on the implosion of a famous royal family. It is a story of betrayal, but also of a great king whose brilliance forged an empire yet whose personal blind spots and poor judgment occasionally where his family was concerned led him into the most serious mistakes of his life. Fortunately, Ms. Penman decided to continue with the family story in her next bo ...more

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